2017 State of the Union address: on Health Care

Donald Trump:
Lower the cost of health insurance, instead of mandates

Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America. The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we will do.

ObamaCare
premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple digits. One third of counties have only one insurer on the exchanges--leaving many Americans with no choice at all. Remember when you were told that you could keep your doctor, and keep your plan?
We now know that all of those promises have been broken. ObamaCare is collapsing--and we must act decisively to protect all Americans. Action is not a choice--it is a necessity.

Here are the principles that should guide the Congress as we
move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans: First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges.

Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Feb 28, 2017

Donald Trump:
Expand Health Savings Accounts but not forced by government

Here are the principles that should guide the Congress as we move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans:

First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable
transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges.

We should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts--but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced
on them by the Government.

We should give our great State Governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out.

We should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs
that drive up the price of insurance.

Finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across State lines--creating a truly competitive national marketplace.

Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Feb 28, 2017

Donald Trump:
Slash restraints at FDA; get blessed with more miracle drugs

Today is Rare Disease day, and joining us in the gallery is a Rare Disease Survivor, Megan Crowley. Megan was diagnosed with Pompe Disease, a rare and serious illness, when she was 15 months old. She was not expected to live past 5.

On receiving this
news, Megan's dad, John, fought with everything he had to save the life of his precious child. He founded a company to look for a cure, and helped develop the drug that saved Megan's life. Today she is 20 years old--and a sophomore at Notre Dame.
Megan's story is about the unbounded power of a father's love for a daughter.

But our slow and burdensome approval process at the Food and Drug Administration keeps too many advances, like the one that saved Megan's life, from reaching those in need.
If we slash the restraints, not just at the FDA but across our Government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles like Megan. In fact, our children will grow up in a Nation of miracles.

Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Feb 28, 2017

Steve Beshear:
ObamaCare is life and death for people, but needs repairs

Mr. President, you and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it. Does the Affordable Care Act needs some repairs? Sure it does. But so far, every Republican
idea to replace the Affordable Care Act would reduce the number of Americans covered, despite your promises to the contrary.

Mr. President, folks here in in Kentucky expect you to keep your word, because this isn't a game, it's life & death for people.
These ideas promise access to care, but deny the importance of making care affordable and effective. They would charge families more for fewer benefits and put the insurance companies back in control.

Behind these ideas is the belief that folks at the lower end of the economic ladder just don't deserve health care. That it is somehow their fault that their employer doesn't offer insurance. But these 22 million Americans are our friends and neighbors.

Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress
Feb 28, 2017

The above quotations are from 2017 State of the Union address to Congress, plus the Democratic response, Feb. 28, 2017.